Destiny and Desire

by Carlos Fuentes, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman (Random House; $27)

The acclaimed Mexican author’s latest novel is narrated by the severed head of Josué Nadal, a young attorney employed by a powerful industrialist. His boss is an enigmatic figure who “anticipates reality” and appears to hold more power than Mexico’s President. The country’s violence looms large—Josué’s is “one of fifty decapitated heads this week”—and to distract the citizenry from the national disintegration, the President hires Josué’s lifelong friend Jericó to organize celebrations. The assignment exposes the frailty of the ideals that the pair once held; as orphaned teen-agers, they forged “a plan for a shared life” guided by self-improvement. The duo’s tribulations are interrupted by dizzying tangents on Piranesi, Nietzsche, and Spinoza, but beneath these often didactic layers is a compelling mystery: Josué races to discover his origins before he meets his gruesome demise. ♦

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